NOTE: In these performative lectures I interweave movement and talking so that the lines between performance and lecture are blurred. They include the performance of a final improvisation on the topic at hand.

“Improvising Identity: Bomba as a Point of Reference Between a Contemporary Dance Artist and a Percussionist” with performance of Talking in Sicá. (2016)

Performative Lecture with Puerto Rican percussionist Héctor “Coco” Barez. Performed at Music Colloquium—Puerto Rican Soundscapes: Exploring Puerto Rican Heritage Stateside Through Roots, Jazz, and Classical Music. Presented by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, CUNY and The Department of Music at Hunter College, CUNY.

Performative Lecture for the program Idea Lounge: landscape—A Discussion with UR Professors Lisa Ashe, Alicia Díaz, and David Salisbury. This program was held in conjunction with the exhibit Anti-Grand: Contemporary Perspectives on Landscape. Performed at The Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, The University of Richmond. February 25, 2015.

A View Into the Creative Research Process for Dance as an Art Form (2012)

Performative Lecture discussing and showing elements of the creative process used by Agua Dulce Dance Theater and guest artist Thayer Jonutz for the creation of new work.

A structured improvisation with Puerto Rican percussionist Héctor “Coco” Barez. It is anchored in the Puerto Rican sicá bomba rhythm and references 12 bomba piquetes or movements. I experiment with both instrumentation and movement vocabulary that go well beyond the boundaries of the pure form, while maintaining the integrity of the rhythm at the center of our conversation. Through this methodology, I am investigating the dialogue between tradition and individuality, between the past and the now, and between dance forms and vocabularies that are part of my personal history as a Puerto Rican woman and as a contemporary dancer.

–Performed at Movement Research at the Judson Church (NYC). Selected through a peer review process.

–Performed as part of the Performative Lecture: “Improvising Identity: Bomba as a Point of Reference Between a Contemporary Dance Artist and a Percussionist” at the Music Colloquium—Puerto Rican Soundscapes: Exploring Puerto Rican Heritage Stateside Through Roots, Jazz, and Classical Music. Presented by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, CUNY and The Department of Music at Hunter College, CUNY. Selected through a peer review process.

Deep Listening (2015)

Deep Listening is a conversation between movement and sound, between dancer and musician, and between cultural memory and identity. Integrating improvisation and contemporary dance with references to the traditional Puerto Rican music and dance form bomba, this work is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Alicia Díaz and Puerto Rican percussionist Héctor “Coco” Barez.

–Performed at the Pregones Theater (NYC) as part of a sold out evening of work by Agua Dulce Dance Theater.

–Invited to present an evening of work by Agua Dulce Dance Theater after presenting a proposal to the artistic director of Pregones Theater, Alvan Colón-Lespier. (There is no other peer review process for this venue).

requinto (2015)

A structured improvisation in collaboration with Puerto Rican percussionist Héctor “Coco” Barez. This piece is an investigation of autobiographical memory, Puerto Rican culture, and the making of identity. Requinto refers to an instrument played in the traditional Puerto Rican musical form plena that improvises over the basic rhythms. Lighting by Michael Jarett.

–Performed at the 2015 Richmond Dance Festival in the Dogtown Dance Theater.

–Selected through a peer review process.

Memory and Resonance (2014)

A structured improvisation in collaboration with Puerto Rican percussionist Héctor “Coco” Barez. The piece was created in response to two prints in the Harnett Biennial of American Prints and addressed themes of racial violence in contemporary American society.

–Performed at The Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art at The University of Richmond.

–I presented a proposal to perform in the museum that was accepted by the director Richard Waller.

down by the riverside, i remember you (2014)

A film directed and edited by Alicia Díaz with movement created in collaboration with Matthew Thornton. It deals with themes of masculinity and fatherhood. Created during the Dance and New Media MFA course at The George Washington University.

–Screened at the 2015 American College Dance Association (ACDA) Mid-Atlantic Conference at Towson University, March 5-9, 2015.

Assistant artistic director, choreographer and performer. This piece emerged from a series of collaborations over the course of two years in Art Farm, an artistic collective of artists from different mediums including movement, video, music, and lighting. It deals with abstract meaning that loosely follows the process of becoming, taking shape, and moving on.

–Performed at Alice Jepson Theater in Modlin Center for the Arts.

–Invited to participate in a shared evening by the acclaimed American contemporary music sextet, eighth blackbird.

RVA Street Art Festival (2013)

A series of site-specific movement installations co-choreographed and performed with dance artist Matthew Thornton over the course of three days as part of a public art project led by muralist Ed Trask that brought muralist from around the nation and abroad to create work in the old GRTC bus depot with the intent to bring awareness to the pressing current discussion about public transportation in Richmond, VA.

Co-choreographer and performer of site-specific, multi-disciplinary project based at BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance). This project was a collaboration between Agua Dulce Dance Theater (Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton), Catch Me Dance (Marion Ramírez and Jung Woong Kim), and multi-media artist Hatuey Ramos Fermín. The work was created in conjunction with research interviews and a tour of Hunts Point with: Petrushka Bazin Larse of the Laundromat Project, Arthur Aviles of BAAD!, Kellie Terry of The Point, and Majora Carter of the Majora Carter Group.

–Project conceived and produced by Pepatián (Jane Gabriels, director).

–Selected to participate during the 2012 APAP @ HOME by Jane Gabriels, curator.

algún día…some day (2012)

Co-choreographed and performed by Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton. Originally performed with live vocals by José Joaquín García and Leah Thornton. This piece is conceived as a solo/duet/solo, that explores ideas of death/copulation/birth. Set to music by Leonard Cohen, Felipe Pirela, and Tom Waits. Recent performances have been performed to live vocals by José Joaquín García, piano by Jonathan Hardy, and percussion by Héctor “Coco” Barez. Costume design by Isabela Tavares. Lighting by Michael Jaret.

–Performed at Danspace Project/St. Mark’s Church as part of the Food for Thought Series entitled “Urban Conversations: City as Choreographer” curated by Jane Gabriels—selected through the 2012 APAP @ HOME, curated and presented by Pepatián (Jane Gabriels)

–Performed at Dogtown Dance Theater as part of the 2015 Richmond Dance Festival—selected through a peer review process.

–Performed at Pregones Theater (NYC). Invited to present an evening of work by Agua Dulce Dance Theater after presenting a proposal to the artistic director of Pregones Theater, Alvan Colón-Lespier. (There is no other peer review process for this venue).

WORK AS GUEST ARTIST:

Glacial Drift (2016)

Maida Withers, director of the Maida Withers Construction Company in Washington, D.C. invited me to collaborate in Glacial Drift, an interactive dance performance inside the monumental ICEBERGS installation designed by James Corner Field Operations in the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

–Performed as part of ICEBERGS exhibition LATE NIGHTS SERIES.

Mind Fluctuations (2015)

Maida Withers, director of the Maida Withers Construction Company in Washington, D.C. invited me to collaborate in her groundbreaking multi-media project called MindFluctuations. This project is an international collaboration between dance, neuroscience, 3D computer art and live electronic music.

–Performed at Lisner Auditorium, Washington D.C.

Chain of Events (2014)

Performed excerpts of MindFluctuations with the Maida Withers Construction Company in a concert featuring works by Maida Withers. Live electronic music by John Driscoll and Steve Hilmy. Lighting by Enoch Chan.

–Performed at the Kennedy Center Theater Lab.

WORK AS CHOREOGRAPHER FOR UR STUDENT PRODUCTIONS:

Remnants (2014)

Co-choreographed by Alicia Díaz and Jorge “PopMaster Fable” Pabón. Original American hip-hop musical dealing with themes of remnants of slavery in contemporary American society. Co-written and directed by José García and Patricia Herrera. Set by Reed West. Costumes by Johann Stegmeir. Lighting by Maja White. Alice Jepson Theatre, Modlin Center for the Arts. November 20-23, 2014.

Traveling (2014)

Choreographed with Matthew Thornton for 8 members of University of Richmond’s student dance company, University Dancers. Music by Dead Can Dance, Joan Manuel Serrat, and Oliver Lyons. Costume design by Johann Stegmeir. Lighting by Maja White. Performed at the Alice Jepson Theatre in the Modlin Center for the Arts.

“…a falcon, a storm, or a great song?” (2013)

A quartet choreographed for University Dancers’ Shifting Ground: New Voices in Dance, in collaboration with the cast. Music by Zakjir Hussain and Le Trio Joubran. Costume design by Heather Hogg. Lighting by Maja White. Performed at the Alice Jepson Theatre in the Modlin Center for the Arts. This piece was inspired in part by the poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, “I Live My Life in Widening Circles.”

blu (2012)

Choreography for the play written by Virginia Grise. Directed by José Joaquín García and Assistant Director Patricia Herrera. Live music by DJ MIKEMETIC. Costumes by Johann Stegmeir. Lighting by Maja White. Set design by Reed West. Performed at the Modlin Center for the Arts, Cousins Studio Theatre, The University of Richmond. Told in a heightened poetic language, the play follows a queer Chicana/o family as they try to envision an earth and sky without police and their helicopters.

Remnants: A Staged Reading of a New American Musical (2012)

Written by José Joaquín García and Patricia Herrera. Directed by José Joaquín García. Music by José Joaquín García and J.A. Myerson. Choreographed by Jorge “Pop Master Fable” Pabón and Alicia Díaz. Performed at the Modlin Center for the Arts, Cousins Studio Theatre, The University of Richmond on March 11, 2012.

La Orilla / The Shore (adaptation in 2012, original 2002)

Díaz and Thornton adapted La Orilla / The Shore, originally a duet, as a trio for University Dancers. Performed at “Jazzed” at UR and the 2012 Mid-Atlantic American College Dance Festival Conference.

WORK AS CURATOR/PRODUCER

2016 Manifest—A showcase of works by the poetic ensemble Universes, and the Puerto Rican dance artist Esther “Ñequi” González. This performance is part of the Latino and Latin American Theatre and Dance Project at The University of Richmond, curated by Alicia Díaz and Patricia Herrera. Performed at the Modlin Center for the Arts. April 1, 2016

2015 Acto de Magia/Magic Act—Invited Puerto Rican dance artist Esther “Ñequi” González to create and perform a site-specific work for The Parking Lot Project as part of the Tucker Boatwright Festival at The University of Richmond. Raised funds from the Cultural Affairs Grant, the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Tucker Boatwright Festival. Coordinated the artistic residency and culminating performance. April 6-11, 2015.

2013 …sur la table…–Invited choreographer Steven Iannacone to set …sur la table… on University Dancers. Secured funding from the Cultural Affairs Grant and the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Richmond for Iannacone’s creative residency. The piece was performed in the company’s 29th Annual Concert at The University of Richmond in the Alice Jepson Theatre in the Modlin Center for the Arts. October 18-27 and February 27-March 1.

2012 undercurrents—Invited Philadelphia based dance artists Marion Ramírez and Jungwoong Kim to give a series of master classes in improvisation and contact improvisation and to perform undercurrents. Cousins Studio Theatre, Modlin Center for the Arts, The University of Richmond. October 25, 2012.

DANCE FOR THE CAMERA COLLABORATIONS

Dust (2013)Artistic collaborator in the conceptual stages of the dance-for-the-camera duet created during the 2012 Art Farm residency in Yellow Barn Workshop in Ohio. Art Farm is a collaboration between Agua Dulce Dance Theater (Alicia Diaz and Matthew Thornton), Thayer Jonutz, Kimsu Theiler, Oliver Lyons, and Alexis Raskin. Movement created and performed by Matthew Thornton and Thayer Jonutz. Filmed and edited by Kimsu Theiler. Screened at the 2015 American College Dance Association (ACDA) Mid-Atlantic Conference at Towson University. March 5-9, 2015.

Artistic collaborator in the conceptual stages of the dance-for-the-camera duet created during the 2012 Art Farm residency in Yellow Barn Workshop in Ohio. Art Farm is a collaboration between Agua Dulce Dance Theater (Alicia Diaz and Matthew Thornton), Thayer Jonutz, Kimsu Theiler, Oliver Lyons, and Alexis Raskin. Created and performed by Matthew Thornton and Thayer Jonutz. Filmed and edited by Alexis Raskin and Kimsu Theiler.

DANCE WORKS CREATED PRIOR TO WORKING AT UR:

Conjuring the Wind (2011)

Collaboration between Agua Dulce Dance Theater and the Grand Rapids based percussion band Wazobia. The trio was performed as part of Trip the Light: Ephemeral at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, MI. Performed by Alicia Díaz, Matthew Thornton, and Sarah Breese.

Untitled at Tompkins Square Park (2010)

Agua Dulce Dance Theater presented a site-specific performance at Tompkins Square Park as part of the 2010 New York Dance Parade. The piece performed by six dancers, moves through a series of duets and improvised group flocking.

An Evening of Dance at The Old Grand Rapids Public Museum (2010)

Agua Dulce Dance Theater (ADDT) presented a site-specific performance for the opening of the exhibit “Michigan—Land of Riches: Re-Examining the Old Grand Rapids Public Museum.” Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton collaborated with Hope College Photography Professor Steven Nelson who designed and constructed a spiraling light installation with photo and video components that the dancers moved within, outside, and in relationship to. The group also performed throughout the museum space at large, including an escort of a bison that paraded the museum! On a separate night, ADDT also curated an evening of dance including the work of the dance company Mise en Place—directed by Thayer Jonutz and Amy Cova—, guest choreographer Courtney St. Clair, and ADDT.

Into the Night (2010)

Co-choreographed by Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton in collaboration with Hope College students for the Dance 36 Faculty Concert. “Into the Night” explores the idea of emerging from one world into another, and is an experiment in different movement qualities. It was inspired by the Portuguese fado, “As Fontes” (The Sources), interpreted by Mafalda Arnauth. The piece was set on dANCEpROjECt’s fall season and will be set on the student dance company at Oakland University in 2011.

A 3-minute dance video created by KimSu Theiler using close-up footage from the garden scenes of “Grain of Sand: A Dance for the Camera Project” Co-choreographed by Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton in collaboration with the performers. Premiered at the 2009 dANCEpROjECt season at Hope College. Screened at the 2010 ACDFA conference at Ohio University. Screened at the 2011 Dance Films @ The Flea Festival in NYC.

Yucuninu: The Development of a Dance (documentary) (2009)

A 20 minute documentary by Alison Dobbins following Kent State University Artist-in-Residence/Assistant Professor Alicia Díaz’s creative process as she adapts her dance solo Yucuninu (2001) into a trio (2008) performed by three Kent State University dance students.

Yucuninu (Site-Specific Film) (2008)

A site-specific film adaptation of the original stage solo created in 2001. Music by Lila Downs. Filmed by Alison Dobbins. In collaboration with Matthew Thornton. This film was projected during the annual faculty concert at Kent State University, Excellence in Motion: Dance 08 Faculty as part of a longer stage version of Yucuninu adapted for three dancers.

Agua Dulce at Pettoranello Gardens (2008)

An hour-long outdoor evening performance created from Agua Dulce Dance Theater’s repertory, including “La orilla / The Shore” and “Grain of Sand.” as well as “Desde el jardín / Out of the Garden” choreographed by Steven Iannacone. The concert was created in collaboration with musicians Sebastián Guerrero and Oliver Lyons, and the cast. Performed at Blue Curtain Music and Dance Summer Series at Pettoranello Gardens in Princeton, New Jersey.

Grain of Sand (theatrical performance) (2008)

Group piece co-choreographed with Matthew Thornton that explores time and transformation. Soundscore by Bill Sallak. Originally performed as a site specific piece in Tompkins Square Park as part of the 2008 New York Dance Parade and as part of an outdoor evening-long performance for the 2008 Blue Curtain Music and Dance Summer Series. In 2009 the piece was adapted for the theater on the Kent Dance Ensemble at Kent State University and on the Shaker Heights Theater Ensemble in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2010 the piece was set on dANCEpROjECT at Hope College. “Grain of Sand” served as the starting point for the 2009 “Grain of Sand: A Dance for the Camera Project” [see information above].

Prairie Dance (2007)

Group piece co-choreographed with Mathew Thornton in collaboration with the cast. Created for the Kansas State University annual faculty concert.

Spirits Crossing Over Water (2007)

Group piece co-choreographed with Matthew Thornton in collaboration with the cast. Created for The Moving Company of the Hathaway Brown School.

Intima (2006)

Structured solo improvisation set to an original sound score created by Díaz including poetry by Julia de Burgos and music by Ernesto Cordero. The solo was first presented by Díaz at Pepatián’s Out of El Bronx performance at Swing Space produced by the Lower Manhattan Community Council in 2005. It was performed by Jessi Flores in the Sixth Annual Bronx Spotlight: Jump it Up 2006 in Hostos Community College, NY.

Mar Adentro (The Sea Within) (2006)

In collaboration with Puerto Rican choreographer Marion Ramírez, Peruvian percussionist Sebastián Guerrero, and Pilobolous dancer Matthew Thornton. Together they develop a dialogue that navigates between music and movement, and between choreography and improvisation. The work evokes the sea as both creator and destroyer, a place where beginnings and endings coexist. The piece was first performed as a duet with Ramírez at the Pepatián Bronx Artist Spotlight: Fall Into It 2005 at Lehman Stages of Lehamn College in NYC. Longer versions were performed with Thornton at the Far Out performance series and the First Weekends Series at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) in 2006 in NYC.

House of Dreams (2005)

Group piece co-choreographed with Matthew Thornton in collaboration with the cast. Created for the Hope College Faculty Concert Dance 31. Music by Lila Downs and Cachete Maldonado. Live vocals by Erin Taylor.

I-Land (2005)

Choreographed by Marion Ramírez in collaboration with Alicia Díaz. Performed at DanspaceProject at St. Mark’s Church and Cornell Univeristy.

Cutamba, Catuba, Cutumba (2004)

Structured solo improvisation in collaboration with percussionist Sebastián Guerrero. Free interpretation of an imaginary deity meditating on how much love and how much outrage in these times of war. Performed at the Tulipanes Latino Art and Film Festival in Holland, MI and DanzaFest 2004 in San Juan Puerto Rico.

Nana para una negrita (2004)

Structured solo improvisation in collaboration with percussionist Sebastián Guerrero. Inspired by Puerto Rican composer Ernesto Cordero’s rendition of “Nana para una negrita” (1985) for solo guitar. Under the soothing lullaby there is a disquieting rebellion. Performed at the 2004 Festival Danz’Aquí, Puerto Rico and the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Taller de Danza, Trenton, NJ.

Love (in times of war) (2004)

Duet co-choreographed with David Matiano to live vocals and piano accompaniment by José Joaquín García and Bladimir Pichardo. Music: “Dichterliebe” by Robert Schumann. Made possible in part by the Brooklyn Arts Exchange Artist-in-Residence Grant. Created in partial requirement for the Master’s Performance Thesis at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study of New York University.

Strange Fruit (2003)

Structured solo improvisation to the song by the same name interpreted by Nina Simone. Performed at the Princeton Peace Coalition Concert for Peace.

La orilla / The Shore (2002)

Duet co-choreographed with Matthew Thornton with original music by Oliver Lyons and the song “Una palabra” by Cuban songwriter Carlos Varela. Commissioned by Contemporary Motions. Made possible in part by the Winter 2002 Union St. Dance Space Grant and the Artist in Residence Grant at the Capoeira Angola Palmares Center. This piece has been developed and revised through the course of several years. It has been performed in different configurations at Hope College (2002 and 2003), Shaker Heights High School (2002), the Festival Danz’Aquí in Puerto Rico (2003), the Dance in America Series produced by Vissi Dance Theater (2006), Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Series (2006), Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro in Mexico (2008), the Blue Curtain Music and Dance Summer Series, Pettoranello Gardens (2008). In 2009 Díaz and Thornton adapted La orilla / The Shore for a group of 9 dancers for dANCEpROjECt at Hope College. It was performed by Alicia Díaz and Sarah Breese at the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival in the Wellspring Theater in Kalamazoo, MI (2011). In 2012 Díaz and Thornton adapted La Orilla / The Shore as a trio for University of Richmond’s University Dancers—performed at “Jazzed” at UR and the 2012 Mid-Atlantic American College Dance Festival Conference.

Imagine the Angels of Bread (2001-2002)

A hip-hop concert version of Puerto Rican writer Martín Espada’s book of poems by the same name. Created with Rubí Theater Company for the 2nd Annual Hip-Hop Theater Festival held at P.S.122 in NY. Further developed and performed at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, NY and The New World Theater in Amherst, MA.

Yucuninu (2001)

Solo choreographed to a Mixtec song by Mexican-American artist Lila Downs. Commissioned by Contemporary Motions. Performed at Raw Material Series at Dance Space (2001), the Capoeira Angola Palmares Center and the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) (2002) in NYC; Hope College, MI (2001-2002); Rutgers University, Transcultural New Jersey: Diverse Artists Shaping Culture and Communities (2002); and Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro, Mexico (2008), and the Blue Curtain Music and Dance Summer Series, Pettoranello Gardens (2008). In 2009 Díaz created a trio adaptation of the solo which was performed by dancers of Kent State University for the annual faculty concert, Excellence in Motion: Dance 08 and the 2010 dANCEpROjECt season at Hope College. The creative process of this adaptation was captured in the 2009 documentary “Yucuninu: The Development of a Dance” by Alison Dobbins. In 2011 “Yucuninu” was adjudicated and selected for the American College Dance Festival Gala Performance at the E.J. Thomas Hall at The University of Akron, OH.

On the 1 Train (2001)

Choreography for the one-act-play by Paola Soto, directed by José Joaquín García. The work was created in collaboration with the Rubí Theater Company cast. Performed at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center, NY.

Taking Flight (2000)

A site-specific solo, choreographed as part of GLIMPSE (The Suite Here After), directed by Steven Dean, for The Judson House Project: A Performance Celebration of the History and Legacy of Judson House, NY.

Duet for en la brega dance company inspired by the true story of twin sisters living in England who chose to be silent in the presence of others and developed a sophisticated shared body-language to communicate with each other. Co-choreographed with Ñequi González for the Primera Muestra Internacional de Artes Escénicas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Live original music by Alberto Toro.

Fragments (1999)

A program of solos and duets by en la brega dance company. Co-choreographed with Ñequi González for the Women’s History Month Celebration of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Original music and vocals by Alberto Toro and Morley Kamen.

tomas desde adentro (1998)

Trio for en la brega dance company. Co-choreographed with Ñequi González in collaboration with Nathan Trice for the 1998 Princeton University Symposium, 1898: War, Literature and the Question of Pan-Americanism. Also performed at the University of Michigan, Dance Department and the Primera Muestra Internacional de Artes Escénicas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

A Woman Who Outshone the Sun (1998 + 1999 + 2004)

Choreography for Patricia Herrera’s adaptation of the Mexican legend. First created with Urban Youth Theater of Henry St. Settlement under the direction of Gloria Zelaya and performed as part of the New York Fringe Festival. Re-staged with Urban Youth Theater under the direction of José Joaquín García and performed at the Abron’s Arts Center, NY. Re-staged and directed by García with Rubí Theater Company, and performed at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, NY.

Raksha’s Child (1997 + 1998)

Choreography for the production of Urban Youth Theater of Henry St. Settlement in collaboration with director José Joaquín García and the cast. Performed at the Abron’s Arts Center, NY.

PANELS

Dorrance and Toshi Reagan, Carpenter Theater (presented by the Modlin Center for the Arts), Moderator.

2015 Talk Back with Kyle Abraham, Modlin Center for the Arts, Moderator.

2013 Bronx Dance Coalition—Participated in preliminary adjudication of future site-specific projects in the South Bronx. Meeting facilitated by Arthur Aviles of BAAD! and Aviva Davidson of Dancing in the Streets.

2012 ACDFA Adjudication Panel, adjudicated UR student works to be presented at the Mid-Atlantic American College Dance Festival Conference.

2005-2006 The Moving Center, Director. Worked as an independent Thai Yoga Bodywork practitioner with clients ranging from professional dancers to people suffering from fibromyalgia.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

2002-1999 New York State Psychiatric Institute, Epidemiology Dept. Worked with anthropologist Susan Barrow doing research on homelessness and mental illness, often dealing with individuals with dual diagnosis of mental illness and drug addiction. Conducted extensive fieldwork in hospitals, homeless shelters, and transitional housing facilities throughout NYC. One study dealt specifically with single mothers with dual diagnosis who had lost custody of their children during incarceration, were living in a homeless shelter after their release, and were trying to regain custody of their children. Research results of all studies were presented with recommendations to policy makers.

1994-1990 Hunter College–Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro), Cultural Citizenship Taskforce. Worked with anthropologist Rina Benmayor and community educators Rosa Torruellos and Ana Juarbe. Duties included interview transcriptions of Puerto Rican women living in NYC who were studying ESL at the Casita Maria Community Center in El Barrio in East Harlem as part of the workfare programs of the 1990s. The study dealt with the complexities and challenges that the workfare program placed on poor women. Worked closely with Benmayor in an oral history project of Puerto Rican women “pioneras” who migrated to NYC in the 1930s and 40s to work in the garment industry and became union organizers. Worked as coordinator of the Rockefeller Fellows at the Centro. Participated in the exploratory stages of a comparative study of cultural politics in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba and traveled to Cuba with the study group in 1994.

TRANSLATION (English to Spanish)

2006 Democracy Now! A Daily Independent Global News Hour, with Amy Goodman and Juan González. Worked as part of the volunteer international team that translates the daily top stories and the summaries of the program’s in-depth interviews for the Democracy Now! website.

1993 Post-Production,Burbank, CA. Translated for subtitles and dubbing of films and documentaries.